Not only is Donald Trump an unconventional candidate, he's got a campaign operation that turns the conventional wisdom of electoral politics on its head.

While Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton boasts an army of more than 350 paid staffers, Trump's operation fields less than a tenth that number.

It includes a coterie of about a dozen paid staffers operating out of the campaign headquarters at Trump Tower on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue — the same building where Trump lives and runs his real estate empire- in an office that is still under construction.

Donald Trump's campaign headquarters on the fifth floor is an unfinished space with exposed drywall and wires hanging from the ceiling.

Scroll down for video

Small team: While Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton boasts an army of more than 350 paid staffers, Donald Trump's fields less than a tenth that number

Big group of Democrats: The small-scale outfit stands in sharp contrast to Clinton's operation across the river in Brooklyn, where her team has built a data-centric campaign led and staffed by some of the Democratic Party's best and brightest

Home and office: Trump's campaign headquarters at Trump Tower on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue — the same building where Trump lives and runs his real estate empire- in an office that is still under construction

The space that once hosted the Apprentice set now holds a select few of his campaign staff, many of whom are first timers and volunteers.

Bloomberg reports that staffer John McEntee was a production assistant at Fox News when Trump first announced his run for presidency.

McEntee emailed Trump his resume and was made a volunteer. He worked his way up to a paid job as the trip director for Trump.

McEntee's office does not reflect the wealth of his billionaire boss who is currently the Republican front runner.

His work space consists of a windowless room with just drywall and no door.

Scattered around the office are various plaques and a flag that says, 'Don't Tread on Trump.'

'Do your job,' one of Trump's mottos, is also prominent in the makeshift office and appears on a poster along with a nameplate on Campaign manager Corey Lewandwoski's desk.

Trump's name all over the space: Republican presidential candidate, memorabilia hangs on a wall at campaign headquarters inside Trump Tower in New York

Once was a TV set: The space that once hosted the Apprentice set now holds a select few of his campaign staff, many of whom are first timers and volunteers

Stickers supporting Donald Trump, president and chief executive of Trump Organization Inc. His headquarters may not be complete but he is making the space his own with Trump decorations and mottos

'You don't need to do someone else's job,' Lewandowski said.

'Just do your job. And that's truly the philosophy that everyone in this campaign believes. So if your job is to open the mail, we want you to do your job. If your job is to be the state director of a state, do that job. If everybody does their job, we can be successful.'

Trump's other motto is borrowed from the NBC drama The West Wing.

'Let Trump be Trump,' says the catchphrase written on Lewandowski's white board.

'You have to let a candidate be themselves,' Lewandowski said.

'And if you've looked at past presidential campaigns, you've seen candidates from both parties who have been over-managed or over-consulted and it reflects poorly on them.'

His team has no pollster, fundraisers or media consultant and only announced its first fulltime, big-name policy adviser this week.

The rest of the 25 or so paid members of the Trump campaign are mostly in the early- voting states of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, states where the billionaire businessman-turned-reality TV host is ahead in polls, leaving the Republican establishment scratching its head.

'Like the rest of Mr. Trump's campaign, we're not following the playbook,' said Trump's recently hired national political director, Michael Glassner, who worked for Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign.

'So what may have been the typical profile for somebody to run a primary or caucus campaign, we're willing to look beyond that, find the people who are the best and the smartest.'

The small-scale outfit stands in sharp contrast to Clinton's operation across the river in Brooklyn, where her team, learning from President Barack Obama's successes, has built a data-centric campaign led and staffed by some of the Democratic Party's best and brightest.

Ties for sale: Donald J. Trump neckties are displayed for sale inside a store at Trump Tower in New York where he lives and works as he prepares for the presidential election

Trump's chief Republican contender, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, is also experimenting with his operating structure, offloading many of the traditional responsibilities of a campaign to a super PAC led by a longtime Bush confidant. His team nonetheless has a sprawling headquarters in a secure building in Miami.

Following a series of staffing shake-ups and high-profile departures, Trump's campaign is now effectively run by two men: himself and his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who is a constant presence at his side.

At events, Lewandowski could be easily mistaken as part of Trump's security detail, with close-cropped hair and a wire in his ear.

The Trump operation is showing that the 'typical campaign' run by presidential candidates doesn't work, Lewandowski said in a recent interview.

'This has been an atypical campaign from the beginning. And it works and it is working and he has massive amounts of support.'

The growing team so far consists of a mishmash of well-respected and connected early-state insiders and newcomers who appear to be just out of college or who have never worked on a national or even statewide campaign.

Dressed: Donald J. Trump dress shirts are also displayed for sale inside a store at Trump Tower in New York

Who wore it best?: Shirts supporting Donald Trump are just a few of the items for sale at his unfinished campaign headquarters

In Iowa, for instance, where he has 10 paid people, Trump snatched Chuck Laudner, a former state party executive director who ran former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum's winning Iowa campaign in 2012. In South Carolina, he's got Ed McMullen, who has been a policy adviser to multiple presidential campaigns.

Others are less seasoned. National campaign coordinator Megan Powers, for instance, appears to have graduated from New York University in June. Her LinkedIn profile lists her experience as director of philanthropy at Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity and vice president of the school's college Republican group.

New Hampshire field director Zach Montanaro's only professional political experience beyond college internships, according to his LinkedIn profile, was as field director on an unsuccessful congressional campaign of a former state representative.

Sean O'Farrell, a volunteer for Trump Organization Inc. Chief Executive Officer and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, works at campaign headquarters where just 12 paid staff members work

And Trump's Iowa campaign co-chair Tana Goertz was a contestant on the "The Apprentice" with no political experience before she joined Trump's team. The motivational speaker and radio host has been holding what she's dubbed 'Stump for Trump' Apprentice-style competitions to hire caucus leaders in each of Iowa's 99 counties.

Glassner said the unconventional resumes are part of a strategy that makes the campaign effective and that the skillset needed from campaign staffers has changed dramatically over the last 30 years.

'The ability to communicate directly through social media has changed the entire landscape and I think that's also changed sort of what I would regard as the qualifications for a professional organizer as well,' he said.

Glassner and Lewandowski recently went on a staff recruiting mission to Nevada, another early-voting state, and plan to set up a campaign team there, as well as in some Southern states over the coming weeks.

The campaign announced the hiring of Charles Munoz, former deputy state director at Americans For Prosperity's Nevada chapter, as his Nevada state director this week and has brought in more people in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Going against the grain: 'Like the rest of Mr. Trump's campaign, we're not following the playbook,' said Trump's recently hired national political director, Michael Glassner, who worked for Sarah Palin

Trump's chief Republican contender, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, is also experimenting with his operating structure, offloading many of the traditional responsibilities of a campaign to a super PAC led by a longtime Bush confidant

Lewandowski said he's trying to make sure staff and volunteers in the early states have the resources they need.

In Iowa, Laudner said, it's been a challenge over the last month to keep up with all the requests for information from potential backers about how they can learn more or be involved with Trump's campaign.

'It's like drinking out of a fire hose,' said Laudner, a veteran Iowa GOP organizer.

Trump has had one office in the state, which is usually empty, Laudner says, because his small team of organizers typically likes to be on the road meeting with local GOP officials. That means that it's been difficult keeping track of would-be supporters, though Laudner says he believes Trump already has more individuals committed to caucus for him than Santorum.

Laudner said Trump will be opening a second office and hiring more permanent staff, instead of making due with mainly volunteers. 'Otherwise, you risk spilling or losing some of that support,' he said.

Trump's New Hampshire headquarters in Manchester buzzed one recent morning with employees in Trump T-shirts popping in and out of a nondescript three-story brick buildings, where 'TRUMP"' painted in white letters marking several parking spots.

Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser who recently parted ways with the campaign but remains a cheerleader for his former boss, said there is still work to be done.

'They're doing so well in the polls,' he said.

'They have so much momentum. Now they have to build an organization to capitalize on it.'